Moons' Dreaming (Children of the Rock) (52 page)

Feather stopped walking and glared up at him.
“
That
’
s not fair.
”

“
I know,
”
he said.
“
I remember lots of things about you and you don
’
t know a thing about any of us.
”

He didn
’
t want to tell her how angry that made him. The thought that Dreamers could make mistakes made him extremely uncomfortable.

He motioned toward the inn.
“
Why don
’
t we have some lemonade? Then we could go home and I
’
ll hunt up a book of embroidery patterns in the library. There
’
s a text all about the history of embroidery. I could read that to you, if you like.
”

“
I don
’
t need to hear a history of embroidery.
”

“
You
’
ll like the pictures.
”

Her frown eased. Grudgingly, she nodded.
“
That might be interesting.
”

“
Chasa, Feather!
”

They turned to see the king approaching them.
“
Sir?
”
Chasa said.

“
Your Majesty.
”
Feather
’
s expression brightened as the king came up and put a hand on her shoulder.

“
A warm day,
”
Sene said.
“
Lemonade at the usual inn?
”

She looked up at him with a friendly smile.
“
Yes, Sire.
”

Chasa gaped at the obvious fondness between his father and his betrothed. The king did not seem to notice.
“
Son, do me a favor. Ivey
’
s back at the house, and your sister and Daav have been fighting again. I
’
ve got a suspicion she might try to make Daav jealous, and I don
’
t want her embarrassing herself or Ivey. Might be a good idea if you spent some time with her until I get a chance to talk to her.
”
Without waiting for Chasa
’
s reply, he steered Feather toward the inn.

Chasa tried not to frown as he started back toward the estate. He heard his father call after him,
“
We
’
ll see you for supper.
”

Feather
’
s voice, lively with affectionate teasing, carried clearly down the quiet street.
“
Shouldn
’
t you be wearing a hat?
”

His father laughed ruefully.
“
Not you, too!
”

“
Here.
”

Chasa glanced behind him. Feather stood on tiptoe to settle her new hat on the king
’
s head. It looked ridiculous.

“
I look ridiculous,
”
his father complained. But he did not reach up to take it off again.

Chasa turned his back on the conversation. Uncomfortable and unhappy, he continued slowly back to the house.

* * *

“
Hi.
”

Ivey looked up sharply.
“
Your Highness?
”

The very attractive princess of Sitrine stood near the arched trellis that served as entrance to the garden grape arbor. Ivey, sitting on the railing of the terrace outside the garden with his eight-string guitar on his thigh, smiled his pleasure at seeing her. Jeyn
’
s pale hair hung loose around her shoulders. Her blue silk dress, high-waisted and low-necked, displayed her advantages
—to advantage,
Ivey concluded with an appreciative smirk. When he
’
d passed through Raisal last fall she had been off somewhere checking on the kingdom
’
s law readers, and the spring before that he
’
d been on and off of the royal estate so fast he
’
d only had time for one audience with the king. With one thing and another, it had been nearly two years since they
’
d had a real conversation. The last time she
’
d bent his ear with news of Aage
—
that is, when she wasn
’
t complaining about her betrothed, the builder. She had asked him a lot about his travels, too, and about his family, his friends, and whether he had any current girlfriends.

“
I didn
’
t know you were here.
”
She came through the archway, a book in one hand.
“
Are you busy?
”

“
No. Not at all.
”
He hastily put his guitar aside.
“
Just practicing.
”

She came up to the terrace and rested her elbows on the railing beside him.
“
That sounds like work. I shouldn
’
t disturb you.
”

“
Don
’
t think of it as a disturbance. Think of it as inspiration. Artists need inspiration.
”

“
Overt flattery.
”
She nodded emphatically.
“
I like that. Do some more.
”

“
It is my profession.
”

“
Part of your profession. What have you and Dad been up to lately?
”

“
I thought you wanted to be flattered.
”

“
I can be flattered anytime.
”
She turned and set the book on the railing, then gracefully vaulted up to sit beside him.
“
I was busy when you met with Dad this morning.
”

He folded his arms.
“
That
’
s right. The king was annoyed that you weren
’
t there.
”

She looked a little sheepish.
“
I was busy.
”

“
Oh?
”

“
Having a fight.
”

“
You
’
re still not married to Daav. The king mentioned that, too. You
’
re lucky your father is so fond of you. He wouldn
’
t put up with that much dereliction of duty from any other member of the court.
”

“
We
’
ve talked about that,
”
she admitted, then changed the subject.
“
About the meeting?
”

Should I humor a pretty girl?
Ivey thought with amusement. All blonde and tan, brown-eyed like her twin and outwardly much more clever.
Would a clever girl allow herself to be humored? Only if she wanted to be. She did say she liked being flattered.
“
It was a nice meeting. You should
’
ve been there.
”

“
Ivey!
”

“
Not that we really missed you. There was another pretty girl there.
”

“
You
’
ve met Feather.
”

“
Cute name. Cute kid. She and Chasa will make a nice couple.
”

“
If they ever get the chance. He
’
s hardly been home since she got here.
”
She drummed her fingers on the stone surface of the railing.
“
And you
’
re not telling me about the meeting.
”

“
Do you really want to talk about the meeting?
”

“
For the moment, yes.
”

“
Yes, tell us about the meeting,
”
Chasa agreed, coming onto the terrace from the house. He sat down beside his sister, who absently put a hand on his shoulder and brushed aside his windblown hair. Chasa turned his gaze on Ivey.
“
We just love hearing about meetings.
”

The prince sounded annoyed. He and Jeyn shared the same expression of dissatisfaction, which made their resemblance even more striking.

“
Among other things, your father asked me to determine if there
’
s been as much increase in Abstainer activity on Rhenlan
’
s side of the border as there has been here.
”

“
He doesn
’
t ask much, does he?
”

Jeyn elbowed her brother to silence.
“
Did you bring him an answer?
”

“
Do I ever fail an assignment?
”
She eyed him skeptically, so he temporized,
“
Do I often fail assignments? Never mind. Yes, I was able to answer a few of his questions. My friends in Rhenlan haven
’
t noticed any increase in Abstainer activity. If anything, there
’
ve been fewer incidents this year than last.
”

“
The weather
’
s been mild. That could account for it, I suppose,
”
Jeyn mused.

He nodded.
“
That
’
s a nice, common sense interpretation.
”

“
But not Dad
’
s interpretation, I bet.
”
Chasa shook his head.
“
I wish he didn
’
t always have to look for the larger pattern behind every single thing that happens.
”

Jeyn cut across Chasa
’
s complaint.
“
What did Aage say?
”

“
That our problems with Abstainer attacks may be part of a larger pattern.
”

Chasa groaned.

Ivey ignored him, and continued,
“
Several things could be happening here to explain the rising number of incidents. One: more Sitrinians than usual may be forsaking their homes and families and becoming Abstainers.
”

“
They
’
re not,
”
Jeyn protested.
“
I know. I keep in touch with the Redmothers of all the villages. Our people are prospering. I can
’
t even remember the last time anyone reported losing a loved one to the Abstainers.
”

“
Two: the Abstainers are migrating here from somewhere else. Specifically, from Rhenlan. Which, according to some people at least, has not been prospering these past few years.
”

It was Chasa
’
s turn to drum his fingers on the railing.
“
Abstainers don
’
t just migrate. That suggests forethought, planning
—
and Abstainers don
’
t plan. They just act.
”

“
And
react,
”
Jeyn said.
“
They couldn
’
t plan, as in thinking things through and coming to a decision that Sitrine would be a good place to live, but they might leave Rhenlan in reaction to a direct threat. We know King Hion has been adding more and more people to his guard.
”

“
More guard patrols should mean more Abstainers killed,
”
Chasa replied
“
Then we
’
d have fewer of them on our border, not more.
”

“
Three,
”
Ivey said.
“
They
’
re not simply Abstainers. According to Aage, they might be sent by the Others.
”